“I have PTSD from my time in the Army and I know the value of cannabis, as do my friends from serving. It’s still a big part of our lives. It’s why I wanted to work in the industry, I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself and cannabis is.”

Andrew Kaufman works as a Packaging Agent at our Joliet facility, preparing products for distribution across Illinois. Though his day-to-day differs greatly from his time in the Army, Andrew highlights a similar brotherhood he’s found at Cresco. Before enlisting, Andrew acknowledged that he felt like he wasn’t “fulfilling my needs within myself, I had always loved helping people.” He joined the infantry to serve on the front lines and was deployed for 1.5 years in Iraq where he was able to offer direct support to not only his unit, but also to the Iraqi people. “I’m decorated, but I’m humble. I’ve helped Iraqi people, I’ve saved Iraqi lives, but I don’t want to be credited for anything. I already have been by the Army. Veterans Day for me is every day, it will be part of my life forever.”

Andrew aspires to always self-improve, constantly think critically, and to serve as a leader by listening and communicating well—skills he learned during his service. He also brought his personal talents to the Army during his deployment: his love of music. A guitarist for more than 20 years, Andrew brought his instrument overseas with him to sing songs around the fire with his unit. Not only did it allow him to stay in practice, but the music offered an escape for the people who had been told ‘you’re all going to Iraq, some of you ain’t coming back,’ during Basic Training. For Andrew, this was old news. It’s why he joined, to help others in spite of the risk.

Andrew, thank you for sharing your experiences with PTSD and for being an advocate for your fellow Veterans. We applaud your work ethic and admire your selflessness! Since we last spoke to Andrew, he’s also been promoted to a supervisory role. Congratulations, Andrew!

“I made some of the best friends I’ve ever had in the world in the Army. We did things together that most people would be afraid of but we did it together. And it made it not as difficult.”

Joseph Rodrigues is the Field Maintenance Supervisor at Fall River. The 19th century mill our facility and Sunnyside call home “has a lot of character meaning that it has lots of things that break here,” so Joseph stays busy. When he graduated high school, he wasn’t sure what to do next. But given that his father and 9 of his uncles had served, he gravitated to the military. He started as an Electronics Repairman then became a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Specialist. He left the military to start a family, but he continues to play a role within several organizations including the VFW and the Elks, as well as local politics.   

Joseph credits the military with giving him so much. “My whole career has been based on doing things with my hands and beginning in electronics with the Army, it’s affected my entire career. It taught me to be independent and, as I was promoted, gave me the opportunity to attend educational and leadership schools, which taught me people skills. My time in the military has molded me a lot. I fly a flag at home and I have my Honorable Discharge papers on the wall of my office. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about my military time or my friends from the military.”

Joseph’s leadership and love for helping others has also led to a passion for community service which he’s helped instill at Fall River. “I had spent a lot of time volunteering with a non-profit on my own time. When I came to work here they were looking for ways to give back so I told them about all these places that I knew right in our neighborhood. Like a food pantry that’s about 150 yards up the street from us that runs twice a month, serving about 300 families cost-free and all the food is donated. I really appreciate the commitment to service and our community. Recently I suggested a Veterans Celebration and flag raising so we all went to work and installed flagpoles for the occasion.” Beyond the facility’s work, Rodrigues says Fall River itself is a city rich in giving back. “We struggle, and the city struggles, it’s not a financially wealthy town. But if your house burned down tomorrow there would be 100 people there the next day, with bags, blankets, and food. People who don’t have extra to give, still give.”

Joseph, your passion for service, volunteering, and your commitment to continuing a culture of giving back at Fall River is a beautiful thing. We are inspired by your joy in taking care of others and applaud the community work done by you and the entire Fall River team. Cresco wouldn’t be the same without you!

Brandon was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA before relocating to the rural calm and fresh air of Butler, where he’s lived for much of his life. He enlisted in the military following 9/11 with the hope of serving the greater good of the country.

Brandon personally uses medical cannabis to treat physical injuries sustained during his service. After the Army, Brandon didn’t want to be put on opioid medications, and the Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Program was an important part of his transition back to civilian life. Based on that experience, he’s proud to help fellow Vets explore wellness through cannabis. “All the Vets that I bump into here, I make it a personal goal to at least remember faces and names, and I do. You remember people because they’re in so frequently and they begin to get to know you.” Brandon feels it’s important to connect with patients on a personal level, and he approaches his work as a Wellness Advisor with compassion and a focus on serving patients’ needs. “I do make it my mission to try to find something in common with each of my patients.”

Brandon served for 4 years in the military as a 15 Romeo Apache Mechanic in 3D ACR. His military experience has shaped his approach to his work ever since. “When I left the military, I had a conversation with my Commander and he said, ‘You have the highest standards and discipline out of anybody I’ve ever trained. If you continue like this, never straying from your standards or dropping your discipline, you will go to the moon.’ That’s my goal. I just try to keep the standard. It doesn’t matter what occurs around us – that standard should never change.”

Brandon has found many rewarding moments during his time working at Sunnyside. One that stands out is the opportunity he had to help a patient he made a unique connection with. “I had a female cancer patient that came in. She sat across the consult table from me, she consulted with me for about an hour and a half. We cried together, we laughed together, we just the most amazing time. When she came in she didn’t want to talk, but I got her to talk for an hour.”

The consultation table is a crucial place in our dispensaries, and Brandon has a little piece of Butler now to take home. “We got new furniture here and all the old consult tables got taken away, but one didn’t get claimed and it happened to be that one. I was able to acquire that table. It was the most amazing thing, because that is where I find the most joy in the dispensary, working one–on–one with our patients.”

Darien Young was born and raised in Champaign, Illinois and is a 4th generation Vet. He leaned on his family and his experiences in the Boy Scouts, deciding that military service was the right path for him. And during his 6 years in the service, he was raised to Corporal in the 92nd Fox unit.

Darien has made friends and connections during his service that will stay with him forever, and he’s also grateful to have had the opportunity to see many different parts of the world during his service. Now as the Agent in Charge at Sunnyside Champaign, the lessons he learned about leadership, teamwork, and commitment serve him particularly well in his current role. “The biggest connection I think from being in the military to now is knowing how to work with different people. When you work in the cannabis industry you come across so many different patients, so many different employees that you work with who bring different knowledge and different backgrounds to the table. That’s exactly what the military does, you don’t know who you’re going to get or who you’re going to meet.”

Darien is proud to be in a position where he can continue to serve fellow Vets. “I love talking to Veterans, especially those guys who served before I did in Vietnam or the Gulf Wars. Vets come in and buy cannabis to help deal with body aches or other damage. It’s great to talk to them and have them leave with a smile.” He is also able to utilize past experiences and his knowledge of cannabis to help Vets who are hurting. “I’m able to talk to them from a military and brotherhood bond perspective, sharing how cannabis might help them. It’s just an awesome, outstanding thing to be able to do.”

As a Vet who experiences symptoms of PTSD it important to Darien that he do all he can to offer the best experience to other Vets. “I think that’s a big reason why I got into this field, I was hoping I would come across a lot of Vets and patients because I can relate to them and their experience.”

Jesse Worsk grew up in Northwestern Pennsylvania and is an Army Reservist. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, his job was route clearance, which involved searching for IEDs (improvised explosive devices). Often heading into dangerous, uncharted territory to search the roads, his military experience provided him with the courage to leap into cannabis, which was legalized for medical use in Pennsylvania in 2012. Going on three years with Sunnyside as the Director of Retail Store Openings, he often applies the same courage and discipline in his day-to-day work as he helps to normalize and professionalize cannabis across new markets.

“Creative problem solving is something that developed from the military and plays a key role in my job here. In my combat role, I was leading convoys where each turn could lead to a different direction and I had to make the best out of what was in front of me.” Within his current role, he faces similar experiences head-on. “There’s a lot of improvising, making a decision on the spot and figuring out a scalable process behind those decisions.” His creativity and quick thinking are helping to usher in a new generation of wellness.

Jesse’s personal connection to cannabis is rooted close to home and contributes to the vigor and responsibility in which he takes on in his role each and every day. His mother fought through cancer and she found medical cannabis to be helpful during her chemotherapy treatments. “Being able to see it help with the symptoms she was suffering through from chemo, my mother’s experience with it was eye-opening for me, helping me see the effects it can have on people. Her experience helped ignite the fire to pursue cannabis after the military.”

He also serves the important role of self-proclaimed “service hype man” leading with a simple yet effective motto to help spread positivity to his team: “Have fun, sell cannabis.” He might be on to something.

Jesse often can be found in the dispensary in his old combat boots with a wrench in hand, ready to pitch in on things big and small, rather than waiting for someone else to take the lead. He still very much has a ‘get it done’ attitude, boots and all!

“I’ve realized that with each of my roles I’ve spent my whole career helping others in some capacity.”

Mike Schenck is Quality Manager for Massachusetts, primarily working out of our Fall River facility. He thrives on targeting quality issues and getting to the root cause to prevent problems from from occurring again. This commitment to seeing things through has been a recurring theme in his career. Since Mike was a child, he had always wanted to become a police officer. Civil service is exceedingly competitive in Massachusetts, and military service can be a good on-road for those wanting to pursue law enforcement. Mike had been on the fence given the commitment required for military service, but when 9/11 happened it pushed him toward enlisting in the Army and joining the Military Police. Mike found that “Once you reported an issue, you’d take care of it and it was done. Then you’d never really hear anything more about it.” He liked being able to dig a little bit deeper on a case so he entered the Army Criminal Investigation Division, or CID. The last 1.5 years of his service was his favorite part, specifically because it offered “a lot of cross-functional teamwork not only within the Army, but also with other branches of service.”

After his service, Mike worked in law enforcement and then spent around 10 years working in the nation’s largest laboratories and hospitals, specializing in healthcare and laboratory management. “But I was starting to get a little stir-crazy and was looking around online for new opportunities. I found Cresco but it wasn’t 100% clear it was cannabis at first, I thought it must be a new lab, but it was a Quality position that mentioned an investigational aspect which piqued my interest. After my first phone screening I did a bit more research and that’s when it clicked. And I’m like, ‘Okay, this is interesting. I wonder how my family and friends are going to feel about this.” Mike himself admits that he too had similar feelings surrounding the stigma of cannabis, largely shaped by his roles in the military and law enforcement. “It was my job to get drugs off the street. But when you look back at it now, it’s not the big boogeyman, and I realized the health benefits behind it. My family and friends have been very accepting of it and that definitely helps. I don’t know how it would have played out if they weren’t so it was really a complete shift here. But I think everything happens for a reason, so I’m really glad it did.”

Mike’s time in the Army has shaped skills he’s gained, especially apparent from the skills he’s gained. “There’s hundreds I could probably list, but the most predominant is teamwork. Being able to assess a situation with a level head, and then proceed accordingly in a calm, but effective, manner. It was a little bit different in the military and law enforcement: different tools for the job but the same concept. In moments right when stuff hits the fan it’s good to be able to keep a level head and work with the team to accomplish a joint goal.” These skills directly feed into Mike’s current role and proudest moments at Cresco: “I’ve had the opportunity to not only participate in, but also to lead, some of the continuous improvement projects. At the end of the day it not only benefits the company, but it benefits everyone else that’s working at that particular facility, and in some cases, across the enterprise. Wherever I’m able to positively impact change is where I’m most proud. I’m very dedicated the job. So you never really find me exiting out the door early too much, though I do try to ride my Harley whenever I can.”

Mike, each team you have worked with throughout your career was fortunate to have your thorough care, attention to detail, and ability to see things through from start to finish. We applaud your impact at Cresco and are grateful you are part of the Fall River team!

“The military completely changed and shaped my life. It gave me guidance, grounding, a procedure for operating. It was a wonderful experience for a young man who did not have that in his life at the time. It gave me rules, regulations and discipline.”

David Booth is Facility Project Engineer at our Fall River facility. He handles preventative maintenance to make sure things are functioning properly, and addresses any unexpected maintenance tasks. A self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, David spent 7 years in the Army, starting as a Petroleum Supply Specialist, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant, and ending his career as an instructor at the petroleum training facility at Fort Lee, Virginia. “It’s funny, my military experience, even though it was only seven years, it ended up being one of the most profound experiences of my life that I continually go back to. I also find camaraderie with other people who have been in the military which is pretty neat.”

That impact rings true in the skillset David acquired during his service. “It gave me an approach to life, specifically to approach it with professionalism, discipline, and leadership skills. As a non-commissioned officer I was responsible for my team’s professional training and employee evaluations. Even though the job skills that I used in the military have pretty much nothing to do with what I do today, at large it prepared me for everything.” David’s team has made huge strides: the 1880s mill that Fall River calls home can be a challenge to take care of but he and his staff have eliminated many of the frequent emergencies by simply incorporating preventative maintenance.

When he’s not at Cresco, David is an avid skydiver, completing 350+ in the past 8 years. “My family thought I was crazy at first. I actually I did it because it scared the heck out of me and I wanted to overcome that fear. Then I just fell in love with it. After about jump number 20 all the fear just faded away.”

David, we are inspired by your taste for adventure, tireless work at Fall River, and consideration for everyone around you! Joseph, Fall River’s Field Maintenance Supervisor, shared that you both treat each other as equals and commended your respectful leadership. Cresco wouldn’t be the same without you!

“Honestly, what urged me to join the Coast Guard was their mission statement. They have a very strong humanitarian mission profile and that what I was really attracted to.”

Prestin Torchia is our Compliance Manager for Massachusetts, ensuring state cannabis regulations are adhered to from seed to sale, and adeptly handling constant evolution. “In the Coast Guard we’re living life on a gimbal, right? That’s what this industry is right now. We’re constantly pivoting, and I think my adaptability is what really helped me so far with cannabis.” During his service, Prestin served as Master-at-Arms and oversaw health and wellness around the ship, ran dining facilities including forecasting for lengthy deployments and nutritional planning, and was a .50 cal gunner. Given that they were often doing drug interdiction missions, Prestin also saw a fair amount of cannabis.

After returning from his second deployment, Prestin finished up his degree in Human Nutrition. At the same time, the Massachusetts cannabis industry was growing, Prestin realized that with his educational background he had a lot to offer. “We had a blank slate to do this right by putting ethics and compliance front and center. We can learn from some of our sistering industries’ transgressions and the pitfalls that can come learning on the fly. In my opinion, that’s what’s really going to break the stigma of cannabis to the general public.” Pairing his in-depth understanding of State and Federal consumer goods regulation guidelines with his military background, Prestin is a proactive decision maker and ready for any of the changes that come his way.

His time in the Coast Guard is something Prestin will always carry with him, as is his commitment to personal health and wellness. “I think it’s really important to focus on balancing our lives. I enjoy being outdoors, I do a lot of hiking.” In terms of recent accomplishments, Torchia completed the Franconia Notch Ridge Loop, a challenging 8.5 hour hike scaling four 4,000 ft. mountains.

“My father was in the Army and that’s one of the ways we bond–through our experiences in the military. He’s always wanted one of his kids to go to the military. He just assumed it would be, you know, a boy. But it happened to be me, his only daughter.”

Dionna Brown works as a Quality Manager in our Joliet facility assessing cannabis as it arrives to the facility to be packaged. She enlisted with the Air Force when she was 19 and served for 4 years. While her father had served, it was really a group of young people Dionna met that started her on her journey. “I had a friend who introduced me to a few of his friends and they were in the military. I had always thought of military people as being very strict and rigid and not having fun, things like that. But I met them at a party, and suddenly I could see myself in them. That’s when I started enquiring about going to the Air Force.”

Dionna highlighted discipline, integrity and work ethic as three of the key skills she learned during her service. She also said it had a ‘200%’ effect on her life. “For a person like me, I didn’t have a lot of opportunities. I’m from an impoverished part of LA, and my two goals were to travel and to get enough money to go to college. I accomplished both of those. The military was a great segway into adulthood for me. Sometimes you’re born in a starting situation and just stay there. But for me it really, really took me out. In fact, I would probably still be there if I did not take a chance on the military. I try my hardest to recruit young people, because I think that that’s a good place to go if you’re unsure what’s next. At the very least, you’ll get a job, make money, travel, and then you can decide what’s best for you from there. I talk to my children about it, I have four stepchildren, and I hope that one of them will follow in my footsteps.”

Thank you Dionna. Your leadership, passion, and commitment to your department are an incredible asset at Cresco. We couldn’t do this without you!

“I have had a love for cannabis since high school and I did as much research as I could at that time on how to grow. I supplemented the inability to grow cannabis with indoor houseplants, vegetable gardens, and identifying and learning about local trees and plants. I knew cannabis had helped so many people, including me, and the thought of being a part of that was a dream of mine.”

Mark Dunham works as a Cultivation Agent with our Lincoln facility, primarily working with the integrated pest management team. Growing up in a rural part of the country, Dunham was exposed to a lot of agricultural opportunities but wasn’t sure what he’d like to do with his life so he joined the Air Force. His job was to troubleshoot and repair all of the electronic systems from communication and navigation to radar and flight controls for the F-16s. As such, the margin for error was exceedingly thin, with single mistakes costing millions of dollars or worse, peoples’ lives. In his role at Cresco, the margin for error is also present, and Mark takes the same levels of care and ownership over the lives of our plants.

In terms of his commitment to hard work and leadership, the military changed his life. “It changed the way I approach work and it taught me that you have to take care of your team. If your people aren’t happy it’s really hard to get the job done because, as cliché as it is to say, your team is only as strong as its weakest link. It also taught me that remaining positive during tough jobs breeds positivity among your team and that positivity tends to make people work faster and better to accomplish goals.”

Thank you Mark, your care for our plants shows with every successful harvest we complete at Lincoln and we are grateful for the attention to detail. Cresco wouldn’t be the same without you!

“I think that we could change the perception, that it’s not political when you’re in the military, you’re not thinking politically. You’re thinking about getting a job done to protect your fellow Marine and to protect Americans.”

Scott Wells is our EVP of Talent Acquisition and has spent the last 25 years involved in HR and talent acquisition. He spoke to us in July of 2019 when Cresco had around 500 employees and HR was a mighty team of 5. Today we have reached just over 2,000 employees and HR is nearing 50 team members across the country. While he still recruits for VP and C-level positions, he now spends a large portion of time involved in our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives and on our COVID-19 response. “The products we create are important, but more important to me is that we’re building a company and a culture that really can thrive in difficult times, and all of our employees have certainly shown that over the last 9 months. I’m proud of the organization that we’ve built, proud of the leadership and our response to difficult situations.”

Before he began leading the charge in HR, Scott developed his skills in the Marines. At 23 Wells was “a little misguided—probably too cocky,” and woke up one morning deciding to walk into the Marine Corps recruiting office to enlist. “I loved it and hated it, but I think many people will tell you that about their military experience. If you could make it through Marine Corps bootcamp and combat training in and of itself is a pretty significant accomplishment. I was promoted five times in three years, and then did five years of inactive reserve duty. After that, I left as a Sergeant and jumped right into my career.” The Marines helped inform Scott’s management style moving forward: “In the military you’re responsible for peoples’ lives, and it gives you a whole different level of respect. But you can’t operate in the civilian world as you do in the Marines. I learned as a civilian leader that you really have to care about the people who work with you, it can’t just be lip service. You have to get involved in their lives and know who they are as people and that makes the work you do that much more rewarding.”

Scott credits the Marines with helping shape him to become the person he is today, one who serves, helps, leads, and guides with compassion. It shows in what he’s most proud of during his time here: “We seek out people who have been disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs, people who might fail a background check at another company for a cannabis offense. We don’t turn them away. We try to find a way to help those people get a second chance to get back on their feet. I make those decisions every day, and I hope that impacts peoples’ lives in a positive way.”

Scott, thank you for your leadership and care for your team, and everyone you encounter at Cresco. You have helped us grow exponentially with top-tier talent, and paved the way for an inclusive industry that focuses on the future. Thank you for all you do!

“There’s a lot of collaboration and teamwork at Cresco. While we might not always agree, we reach a common ground to achieve what we need to do because everyone cares. Same with the Marine Corps, we care for each other and care for our country. That ability to come together is the biggest thing I take pride in at Cresco, and I feel the same pride for my time in the Marine Corps.”

Moses Heredia is our Accounts Payable & Controllership Manager. He evolves processes within our accounts payable team and plays a large part in month-end and quarter-end closure. Early in his career, Moses spent 4 years serving in the Marine Corps while simultaneously attending community college at night. “Getting into the Marines Corps provided me a better structure and vision as I moved forward. Working on the finance side at the local Marines office I was doing many similar things to what I do now, but instead working with the Captain and Master Sergeant. I built a lot of relationships during that time, especially a brotherhood with the men, and after my service, I was prepared to focus on the next step in my career. I sought advice from some of my mentors who led me in the direction of accounting. I started from the bottom up and I never thought I’d be working at a marijuana company. To be honest, if somebody would have told me that years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it.” Moses’ current position requires an extreme attention to detail and to juggle a large amount of priorities at once. “In the Marine Corps, you may have a plan but things happen, and you reset and plan around that. I do that here too, figuring out ‘Okay, what do I do 1st, 2nd and 3rd?’ Changing priorities is a huge, huge skill. The Marines provided me a structure, given how frequently you realize that your day is not going to be as you planned it, but you still need to be productive and execute on tasks.”

Moses takes pride in his service and wants to make sure our Veterans are taken care of. “Serving my country in itself takes a lot of pride. My only hope is that, as we move forward as a country, we value Veterans. It’s unfortunate that the necessary health resources often not there due to the stigma. I hope as we move forward that the country provides the research and medical supplies Veterans need to help overcome the challenges they face after service.”

Moses, your respectful leadership and expert ability to balance tasks and priorities are incredibly valuable to our organization, and the respect and kindness you show to everyone is invaluable. Thank you for everything you do at Cresco!

“Having spent 20 years making tough calls in the Marine Corps, I feel prepared to do the same thing for my team. You do not stand around wondering whether it’s the right call to make. You make it and then adjust accordingly, if it was a mistake you admit it and move on. Don’t make the same mistake twice.”

Doug Himes works as Quality Assurance Manager in Brookville, PA, ensuring that our processes lead to a quality product each and every time. As a retired Gunnery Sergeant, Doug’s day-to-day in QA varies from his time in the Marine Corps, but he still finds similarities between the two. “Whether we are inspecting labeling of a specific product or calibrating a spectrum analyzer, the quality side of it is no different, it has to be right. It is important it being right every time for both brotherhood of Marines, or Cresco and patient family.” Doug’s pride in his service is something he shares with joy. During COVID he’s been wearing a Marine Corps face mask while at the facility. “It’s not something everybody can say, I am a Marine. I am incredibly proud of that.

“Being from Small-town, USA the vast majority of everyone I encounter is incredibly appreciative that Cresco is here in Brookville PA.” Doug has also piloted the implementation of Fast Fields, a program to electronically record our inspections for QA, which has now become a nationwide standard for Cresco. He considers it one of his greatest accomplishments during his time here.

Doug is married and enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as any or all of the 8 grandkids. “We have multiple dirt bikes, four wheelers and shooting range for them to enjoy on the farm. I think I have them hooked on that vice rather than their electronic devices, and that’s a good thing.”

Thank you for your kindness and your commitment, Doug, you have made an incredible impact in our organization as well as during your twenty years of service. We applaud your attention to detail and leadership and are honored to have you as part of the team!

Ryan’s a Navy Veteran from Paris, Illinois who enlisted in 2006 when he was just 21 years old. He served as an Aviation Electrician during two deployments to the Persian Gulf on the USS Nimitz out of San Diego, working on repairing engine generators and aircraft components. Ryan’s ambition during the war in Afghanistan was to work on naval aircraft, and that’s exactly what he did.

“The biggest transition from service to working as a civilian is working as a team. At Sunnyside, that’s completely how we operate. Everybody leans on each other to get the job done. I really enjoy everyone that I work with, like I did in the Navy. It’s something that I haven’t really found anywhere since; there’s a lot of camaraderie at our store and it’s been great.”

With cannabis being a highly regulated industry, Ryan sees similarities between his military experience and his role at Sunnyside. “Working in aviation, we had very specific rules to follow and pilots’ lives were at stake. It’s easy to understand the seriousness of cannabis guidelines based on the experience of dealing with significant regulations in the Navy.”

Having been diagnosed with testicular cancer following his Navy service, he sought out a medical card through the Illinois Pilot Program and started exploring cannabis as a potential way to help relieve his discomfort during treatments.

During this time, he recognized the value of the strong avenue of support the Veterans Association provided. He still spends time today at the VA, where he proudly educates others in the hope that he can inspire and help them find potential relief through cannabis. “The biggest thing for me as a Veteran is being able to help other Veterans through the process of getting a medical card.”

After some time, he was inspired to pursue a career in cannabis, joining the team in 2020 as a Wellness Advisor in Danville, Illinois. Today, Ryan finds great satisfaction in helping others discover wellness through cannabis – both fellow Veterans and adult-use customers alike. “We get a lot of older Veterans and it’s nice to feel like I can be on the same page as them on the overall potential benefits.”

Ryan’s positive impact shines through every day in Danville. “This is the best job I’ve had in my adult life since the military and I wish more Veterans would get into this line of work.”

We’re proud to work with Ryan and we greatly value his expertise in helping to guide our community of Veterans and adult-use customers in Eastern Illinois. We’re lucky to have you, Ryan!

“Life is a cycle. You start out at the bottom and you try to work your way to the top. When I was in the military I worked my way to be one of the top analysts in my field. Now I’m here: working to do better every day and continue working toward that goal.”

Keith Nicolaus is a Manufacturing Technician working in the lab for our Brookville facility. Though he fills in across the lab, he is most frequently working on our RSO. A year out of college, having gotten a degree in Electronics, Keith was struggling to find a job. He spoke with a few military recruiters and found that he could accomplish his goal in the Navy. 20 years of service later, he’s worked as an Oceanographer, an Electronics Technician, and Master Acoustic Analyst to covertly track Soviet submarines. With the launch of a new submarine model Keith would work to figure out the new engineering system just by the sounds the subs made in the water. “You have to be meticulous doing your job there because you could be identifying a threat submarine carrying 36 ballistic missiles pointed at the United States. I identified everything from propulsion systems to auxiliary components, picking out class identifying sources that enabled our submarines and surface vessels to track these threat submarines. The same need for meticulousness applies in my current role. You’re making a product that has to be to exactly right.” Though he wasn’t familiar with RSO when he first arrived at Cresco, Keith’s research has only increased his attention to detail. “I realized it’s often used to help children or older people with Epilepsy or seizures. Every day I try to put out the best product that I can to help those people. That’s what I take pride in.”

Keith flies his flag with pride 24/7, both literally and figuratively. He’s served as a Commander at the Sykesville American Legion for the last 5 years, before that he spent 20 years as their Chaplain, and he served as Master of Ceremonies the last five years for the Memorial Day Ceremonies to honor fallen service members. Keith’s pride in his service shows, from his lasting service to his continued participation in American Legion programming.

Thank you, Keith. Your commitment to serving and continuing to honor the military community is inspiring. We wouldn’t be the same without your careful, focused execution in our lab, and we know this exceptional commitment to quality and preciseness is meaningful to our patients as well.

“I joined the military right after 9/11. I lived in New York, I grew up there, and I watched the Twin Towers fall from my rooftop. Shortly after that, I joined the Navy.”

Khyran Boyd works as a Cultivation Agent for our Lincoln facility. But before joining us, he spent 6 years in the Navy working in IT and Secure & Unsecure Message Transmission and Encryption Equipment. He’s gained several valuable skills during his time in the Navy, but Khyran acknowledges his time sering also sparked significant challenges: “I get up early because of the military, I’m always on time because of the military, and I learned how to see things from someone else’s point of view. But I also left with psychological damage that’s had a lasting impact on me too.”

After leaving the Navy, Khyran worked as a chef for 10 years, learning his craft in Springfield, honing his skills at well-known establishments in Chicago, and then returning to Springfield. But cooking professionally began to wear on him so he made his way to Cresco. “I loved cannabis since the first time I tried it. There’s something about it that puts me at home, and it helps even more now since coming out of the military with the issues that I have. Cannabis is my happy place. I became a medical cannabis patient last year and when I found out that I could get in the industry I felt like there was nothing else that I would rather do than to be a part of this from the beginning.” The Lincoln Cultivation team has been breaking records since Khyran’s arrival, and is something he values being a part of. His pride also extends to the increased teamwork he’s seen over the last few months. The Navy brought together a collection of people with varying world-views, and the Lincoln team is no different. Everyone brings their own skills to the table.

Thank you Khyran, your hard work and commitment to your team and to your craft are incredible assets. Thank you for everything you do!

“I am, I believe, the fifth generation to have served my country in my family. We have all served in the Army, and between me, my parents’ generation, and my grandparents’ generation we have over 100 years of military service.”

Elliott “Elmo” Glynn is a Cultivation Agent and takes care of all 800 mom plants inside our Brookeville facility. He makes sure things are ready to go before we do any sort of cloning. Before his arrival at Cresco, Elliott served our country in the Army, “it’s what the eldest son in my family does.” He was stationed in Germany and was born there. He additionally did a tour spending 9 months in Afghanistan, 3 months in Pakistan, and 15 months in Iraq. Proudly he was also present for the 60th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy and was able to assist on a mission. Though proud of his time spent serving, “the army really defined what the word stress was for me, and I’ve yet to experience it in the civilian world. True stress. When I got out, they tried to give me all these pills for my PTSD and body pain, and this was during the height of the opioid epidemic. I have dead friends because of that exact scenario: the VA gave them pills, they got hooked, and when the pills stopped coming, they ended up on heroin. I was not going to go that route and thanks to cannabis I’m 100% pill-free.”

After his service, Elliott caught the farming bug, eager to branch out from the military and spent a year in California managing a cherry farm of over 3,200 trees. Though he and his wife have returned east, they dream of one day starting their own homestead and becoming 80% self-sustained. For now, Elliott is using his farming acumen to take care of the moms. “We moved into the new mom room six months ago, and everyone that walks into that room is impressed with what we have done in there. That is a testament to my teammates as much as it is to me.”

One of the key things Elliott carries with him from his service is his nickname, “Elmo”, given to him during his first month in the Army and created by his Army brothers. He also passes along his experiences to his family. “My five year old, I could yell ‘front and center!’ right now, and he would run in here, lock up at a position of attention and salute me.”

Thank you for sharing your story with us Elliott, we are moved by your experiences, and so proud of the impact you have made at Cresco Labs! Thank you for the incredible care you take to tend our mom plants!